Chicken saga

Finally we picked up our hens and this is a run down of the past couple of weeks:

16th Feb - Hooray after alot of to-ing anf fro-ing I finally managed to pick up the three pure breed pullets that we had ordered (only 4 weeks after we should have picked them up!) We have got a Rhode Island Red, a Buff Orpington and a Light Sussex. I got them safely home and ensconsed into their house with some food and that was it until......

17th Feb - Opened the hatch for the chickens to come out and have a look - no sign of any chickens all day - diddley squat...not even a beak out of the pop hole...zilch - Then had the most amazing brainwave of getting a Hybrid hen because they tend to lay more than pure breeds - into the wilds of Norfolk I went and came home with a Speckledy hen. She was then also deposited into the house.....

18th Feb - Opened the pop hole this morning and waited....and waited....and at last the Light sussex poked her head out of the hole - I had put their food in the run and had put some grain on the ladder into the house to coax them down...eventually the light sussex came down into the run, then the speckledy hen, then the Rhode Island Red, then finally after what seemed like ages the Orpington came out.

The trouble was that the speckledy, rhode island and light sussex were all having a go at the Buff orpington, she ended up looking very sorry for her self cowering underneath the ladder.

19th Feb - The three naughty chickens were still having a go at the orpington so I have made a run extension to give them some more space - I have separated the orpington during the day and put her into the main house to roost. I am now searching for another orpington so that they can be kept separate from the others.

When I have sorted things out and have the time in the day light I will take some photos. We have had some egs though from the speckledy hen. I had the first one in a courgette souffle ala Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall - very nice it was too!